If you mention your math class or the cafeteria, you are not likely to get confused looks. Everyone has heard of the library. “What’s a bathroom?” said no one ever. Most places in Woodgrove are no secret to those who frequent it, but within it are a variety of classrooms, spaces, and tools with unique functions that many students might not know about. The fine arts hallway is home to some of the most interesting nooks and crannies around.
The band, orchestra, and choir rooms are no secret in the fine arts hallway. However, in between these classrooms, you will find two eight by eight, soundproof spaces called practice rooms. Each practice room is equipped with a piano, music stand, chair, and whiteboard for music students to practice their scores, record for auditions, or do other music-related activities outside of class. “Almost any school has practice rooms,” Band Teacher Mr. Ryan Dempsey said. “It’s just a space where students can pull out of class or practice or if you have a study hall and want to come down.” Dempsey emphasized that he and the other music teachers pay close attention to who uses the rooms, and they are strictly for music practice. “It’s pretty much free use for music students, first come, first served,” he stated.
Every Woodgrove student, parent, and staff member has likely been in the auditorium before, but few know about what goes on behind the scenes of events and shows. Senior Kennedy Dehler, a leader of The Grove Theatre’s technical crew, is an expert on all things tech. “I’ve mostly worked in the booth, which is at the back of the auditorium, so I do lighting and sound,” Dehler stated. She explained that there are “panels” with switches, knobs, and buttons to control lighting and sound levels. “The microphones…are synced to the tower [an antenna] and the tower is synced to the sound booth,” she explained. This tech booth is a closed room with a locking door and windows that overlook the audience, a luxury not all performance spaces have. “I prefer it. I like to have that space where…we [the tech crew] can talk to each other a little bit and no one can hear us,” she shared. “I really appreciate that, because we’re able to better communicate and be in it for the show. We’re not distracted by anything going on in the audience typically.”
Another space that is important to theater is the catwalk, a hallway invisible to the audience, “floating” in the ceiling in front of the stage. “The main point of the catwalk is just to hold a lot of the lights,” explained senior Sean Harris. “A lot of times during shows there are special effects, like in ‘Into the Woods’ leaves were thrown from there.” These lighting touches and special effects are the icing on the cake for main stage productions. “There’s a huge hole in [the catwalk],” they laughed, “there’s a part of it that’s drywall, and someone accidentally put too much pressure on it, and it broke.”
Junior Emma Edwards, an active thespian and musician, is also in the photography class. “Definitely photography is something I want to do in my life, so that’s nice to be able to do something I enjoy,” she shared. “It’s a good part of my day.” As film is a popular style of photography, Mr. Shawn Grove’s classroom has a darkroom for film to develop. “Tiny little particles of silver are in the film and are light reactive, so when the light hits it, that’s how it captures the photo,” Edwards said. “We have red lights in the darkroom so that we can see a little bit, but the film doesn’t react to it.” She explained that if the film is exposed to any light before being developed, the image is ruined. The film is kept in light-proof canisters until they enter the darkroom, which has a revolving door to keep every ray of light out. “Obviously, you can send your film off to be developed somewhere else, but [developing it yourself in] the darkroom, I think, really gives you an appreciation for the art of photography itself,” Edwards expressed. Whether playing tunes, snapping pictures, or putting on an encore-worthy show, fine arts students have the privilege of using a variety of “secret” spaces specific to their interest to enhance their education and experience.